Nagpur: A voluminous 13,048-page chargesheet on the Right to Education (RTE) admission scam that unravelled a web of criminal activities was filed in Nagpur district court on Monday. The case, which began with fake documents used to secure RTE admissions in Nagpur during the 2023–24 academic year, exposed links to poaching, illegal arms possession, and sexual offences.The chargesheet by Sadar police names 11 accused, including key conspirators Prashant Hedau and Rajesh Buwade, both of whom submitted forged residential documents to secure RTE quota seats for their children at two city schools. The investigation, carried out under supervision of then-Zone 2 DCP Rahul Madane, then-Sadar ACP Madhuri Baviskar, and PI Manish Thakare, followed a written complaint by group education officer, Kakdu Rameshwarrao Durge. This complaint was filed after the taluka verification committee found gross discrepancies in residential documents.According to police inspector Thakare, the complainant earlier tried to seek redressal at the tehsil level, but was unsuccessful. It was only after approaching the zilla parishad that a special investigation team (SIT) was constituted by then-ZP CEO Saumya Sharma to probe the matter.Of 11 accused, six, including Hedau, Buwade, Raja Jamshed Sharif, Ruksaar alias Rupali Dhagaye, Rohit Pillay, and Shubham Bhute, have been arrested. The prime accused, Shahid Sharif, continues to be on the run for over a year, for whom a lookout notice has also been issued. Shubham Bhute, an important member of the network, allegedly forged fake documents for over 17-18 students. The fraud involved well-off families falsely claiming to be from below poverty line (BPL) backgrounds to secure RTE seats meant for underprivileged children.What started as an education scam soon expanded into a broader criminal conspiracy. As per the inspector, when they checked Sharif’s phone, they found it wiped clean. “He erased all data from his phone, but we were able to recover it,” he said. The cop added they discovered deleted files containing sexually explicit images of minors, resulting in POCSO charges being slapped on mastermind’s brother, Raja Sharif and Pillay. In a follow-up raid, more incriminating data were recovered that revealed Raja and Shahid Sharif’s involvement in tiger and deer hunting in Madhya Pradesh.Acting on this, Nagpur police collaborated with Jabalpur Forest Department. A 70-page panchnama was prepared after a raid on Raja Sharif’s vehicle revealed empty gun shells, wild animal hair, and fish remains. The forest department arrested Raja Sharif and Rohit Pillay from Nagpur Central Jail under Wildlife Protection Act. Two of their associates, Aamir Aziz alias Attu Bhai and Jafar Khan, were also nabbed in Madhya Pradesh.Separate cases under Arms Act, Wildlife Protection Act, and POCSO have been registered against the network, in addition to IPC sections 420, 465, 468, 471, 472, 201, and 34 for fraud and conspiracy. As per police, the chargesheet backed by digital, documentary, and witness evidence is aimed at ensuring strong legal action against those abusing educational provisions and engaging in wider criminal networks.
